


Someone Please Tell Him The Truth

by AlienAlkali



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma Attack, Akuma Battle, Angst, Angst and Drama, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Based off of a couple songs, Blood and Violence, Emotionally abusive Gabriel, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Original Akuma, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Sad, Violence, comatose!Marinette, post reveal post relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:07:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25454389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlienAlkali/pseuds/AlienAlkali
Summary: He always takes hits for his lady, but what if he didn’t? Or the one time Adrien promised to not be so protective in battle and things go wrong/he keeps that promise.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Kudos: 33





	Someone Please Tell Him The Truth

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to @LNC (or @Inc2 on tumblr) for the songs and fic inspiration! 
> 
> Facedown by The 1975
> 
> Let It Be Me by Steve Aoki & The Backstreet Boys
> 
> Diganle by Leslie Grace & Becky G
> 
> Title inspired by the line in Diganle: alguien por favor le cuente la verdad.
> 
> Sorry if I’m a little period happy. I tend to get that way when writing angst because I think it makes the story more dramatic.

**ADRIEN’S POINT OF VIEW**

She had brought us coffee and baked goods that morning. It was just barely dawn as we sat down to drink the warm remedy while on patrol. It was early November and the air was nippy as we watching the sky turn brilliant pinks, purples, oranges, and golds next to the Eiffel Tower. I held her close in my arms and we dangled our feet over the edge of the building, taking in the scene and the Seine. It was these moments we always cherished. Life was short, after all.

She sighed. “You had a rough night last night, didn’t you?”

I tensed. “I-I suppose so. It wasn’t too bad.”

I couldn’t look her in the eye. And I couldn’t lie. We both knew that. 

“Adrien, tell me what really happened.” Her voice was steady, concerned, and hinted at being tired. She probably had a rough night, too. But in a different way.

So I told her. Father had gotten angry with me when I snuck home from patrols. He was always angry with me. Why didn’t he love me? Surely he did. But why didn’t he ever show it? Maybe he’s still recovering from... maybe he just loves differently. And he has his soft moment, although rare.

I kept my eyes down. She kept hers on the horizon, thinking. Always thinking. That’s one of the things I love about her. My lady is always analysing things so she can help. She always wants to help. She’s always so selfless. And I’m not. 

We were like Yin and Yang. Two opposites that compliment each other. We make each other whole, complete. She brings luck and fixation. I bring calamity and destruction. But life has a balance, so I guess I’m necessary.

Necessary, but never wanted. It’s how the world sees me. It’s how my father sees me.

She must have noticed the tears running down my cheeks because she took my hand and squeezed it tight. “Oh, _mon pauvre chaton._ I’ve got you. I always will.”

I looked up from the crook in her neck and smiled at her. She placed a kiss to my forehead. 

“I love you—“ But I was cut off by the sound of a large boom.

My lady and I have fought many hard akuma battles, but none as tricky as this one. I could barely hear the huffs of Ladybug over my own as we fought by each other’s side. How long had we been doing this? 

The akuma was like a ninja—literally. They wore the apparel, fought with a katana, and threw ninja stars at us. The battle was fine until they switched to an offensive position. 

Ladybug and I struggled to keep up the pace. One wrong move and—

“Ladybug!” I jumped in front of her as she stumbled to get her footing. A ninja star was coming right her way and I wasn’t going to let it get her. Not now. Not ever. Paris needed her too much. 

I needed her too much. 

So I took the hit for her. It got me in the abdomen, but it would have been worse if it had hit my lady. 

“Chat! No!” she screamed as I fell to the ground. 

My vision went blurry and my body felt numb. At least I couldn’t feel the slash on my abdomen. But I could feel the press of arms embracing me. I could hear the muffled sounds of the akumatized victim cackling. Next thing I knew, Ladybug had lifted me up and took us into an alleyway. 

“Hey, Chat, look at me.” I felt the press of hands to my cheek. 

“Please, Chaton. You need to be okay.” I felt arms cradle me and squeeze me tight. 

“I need you to be okay.” I felt something wet drop onto my cheeks a few times.

After a few seconds my vision cleared and my hearing came back to normal. I had a little bit of feeling in my body, but I was still pretty numb. 

“I’ve never seen someone cry in such a beautiful way,” I croaked. She raised her forehead from mine.

“Ch-chat?” her voice cracked. 

“Hey, Purrincess.”

I thought she was going to pull me into another hug, but instead she backed off and stood up, leaning against the wall opposite from me, hunching over as though she were hurt. 

“How could you?!”

I blinked. “What?”

“I thought you said you would stop taking hits for me, Chat! You promised! I can take care of myself. But I can’t do this alone, and I need you to be there at my side! I can’t keep taking you out of a battle because you’re... _self-destructive!”_

She was sobbing now, her shoulders shaking, head in her hands, knees weak. I didn’t know what to say. I did it because I knew everything would be alright. I knew she found fix things. 

“I know you love me and want me to be okay. But you can’t place all your trust in me. It’s stressful, Chat. It’s so stressful...” her voice cracked again. 

I knew what she was thinking: _what if I fail?_ Seeing her like this broke my heart. I reached out to her and she took my hand. I pulled her down onto my lap and held her tight while she cried.

“I’m sorry, bugaboo. I should have respected your wishes. I’ll work on it, okay? I won’t let you down this time.”

Sometimes the only way to love someone is to let them go.

We were battling the ninja again. I wasn’t as capable of fighting because of my wound, but I tried. We’d stopped by a clinic so we could bandage my abdomen for the time being. The minutes we spent away from the ninja caused a lot of damage but we both knew it would be fixed.

“Chat Noir! Remember the plan, okay?” I nodded as she headed up to a roof. We had identified the item of the akuma as the ninja’s mask. Ladybug would distract them, I would sneak up from behind and rip off the mask.

Everything was going according to plan. Ladybug was fighting atop a building as I hid. The ninja had thrown me off the side of the building earlier, so as far as they were concerned, I was knocked out.

“You will never defeat me alone, Ladybug!” the ninja cackled. 

She smirked. “Well it’s a good thing I’m not alone, then.”

That was my que. I ran up to the ninja from behind and the mask ripped as I tore it off. Out came the akuma and I hit the ground rolling. 

But when I looked up, there was Ladybug, her arm stretched out and a sad smile on her face. She was falling backwards, off the side of the building.

“Ladybug! No!”

I was going to jump to save her when my eye caught on the akuma. She wouldn’t be able to get it. Ladybug would never forgive me if I didn’t get the akuma first. 

“Cataclysm!” And just like that, the akuma was gone.

I noticed that at my feet was Ladybug’s yo-yo. It must have gotten thrown aside when I focused on sneaking up. My eyes widened as I realised what this meant—Ladybug wouldn’t be able to save herself.

I would never forgive myself for this.

“What happened—?“ the victim started to ask, but I was already jumping off the building and into the Seine.

The water was bitterly cold. I came up for air and started the search for my lady, adrenaline pumping the whole time. It must have taken a few minutes until I found a submerged and unconscious Ladybug being carried by the current. I dove down further, tucked my arms under her armpit and across her chest before coming back up.

I came up gasping. I could hear the sirens. I got us both on ground before shaking her, calling her name to see if she was responsive. No response. So I checked for a pulse. No pulse. Her earrings beeped. She only had a minute left. I cursed under my breath and got us into an empty alley before starting CPR. 

I could hear the sirens.

“Come on, Ladybug,” I muttered in between giving her rescue breaths and chest compressions. I did this again, listening to the crunch of ribs.

I could hear the sirens.

She detransformed and I found myself with Tikki and a wet Marinette.

Tikki gasped. “Marinette...”

I could hear the sirens.

My ring beeped. I continued the CPR for another minute before I detransformed. 

“Oh, no...” Plagg muttered. I had tears in my eyes by this time.

I continued doing CPR. Again. And again. And again.

I could still hear the sirens.

I came into the foyer of the emergency room out of breath looking panicked. I didn’t have my phone on me, so I wasn’t able to call for an ambulance. The first responders were looking for an akumatized victim and the heroes of Paris, not two teenagers in an alley.

Everyone looked at me like I was a weirdo until I yelled for help. I was surrounded by nurses and doctors in seconds. A nurse asked me what happened as everyone else got Marinette on a bed, hooking her up to a whole bunch of stuff. I had to tweak the story a little so I could keep our identities a secret.

Then they took her away in a rush and left me standing there, staring.

And I could still hear the sirens.

“—he needs to know... stay under that long... that’s what the... said...” 

The doctor was whispering urgently with a nurse, but I wasn’t really listening to what they had to say. The sirens had stopped as soon as I heard her heart monitor start beeping. That’s all I was listening to: her heart. And her breathing.

The nurse had shown me in fifteen minutes ago. She had said Marinette had just gotten out of surgery. I took her hand when I saw her. I was still holding it now.

“Where’s my daughter?” a large man demanded in the hallway. He was accompanied by a short Chinese woman.

“Are you Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng?” the nurse asked.

“Yes,” Sabine responded, much more put together than her husband. But I could see her eyes were red and puffy.

The nurse smiled sadly. “Right this way.”

Tom and Sabine walked in seconds later and rushed to her side. I backed off so they could have some time with their daughter, but Sabine caught my hand before I could slip off. 

“Please. Stay. She loved you so much, Adrien. You’re part of the family, too.”

I couldn’t help the flood of tears that came from me as I heard those words and they both pulled me in for a hug. I didn’t deserve this. I didn’t deserve their love. I should’ve been there. I should’ve saved her. They hugged me tighter as I sobbed uncontrollably.

The doctor came in a few minutes later. I had calmed down by that time and all three of us had settled around Marinette’s bed. 

“So, tell me the story again, Adrien?” the doctor inquired. So I did. I told them the fake story. It was close enough.

But I didn’t miss the slight frown and crease in Sabine’s face when I finished. Marinette had told me that she’d had a few close calls with both her parents, but her mom was harder to convince. Marinette had suspicions that her mom knew. But Sabine never said anything.

“I’m sorry this had to happen. Really, I truly am. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Marinette is breathing without a ventilator anymore and her heart is beating. She’s overall very healthy and in good condition, despite the fact that she has a few fractures. The fractures in her ribs and sternum were caused from the CPR, of course. We did find it strange that she had fractures in her collarbone and legs.” I didn’t tell them that she fell from a roof.

“And the bad news?”

The doctor hesitated. “She... she is in a coma.”

Tom and Sabine had fallen asleep on the couch in the hallway. I, however, was wide awake. The doctor had asked to talk to Marinette’s parents in private. They had protested at first, but I told them I would be alright. 

I was studying Marinette’s patient report, left on the desk next to her bed. She had an oblique fracture to her right femur, hairline fracture to her sacrum, and—

I turned around when I heard a knock at the door and sat down right before the door opened. Nathalie.

“I heard about what happened. I’m so sorry, Adrien.” I nodded, reminded of my grief. 

“Thanks, Nathalie. Will father be here?” I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Father almost never came. Not even when I sprained my wrist a few years back. He was probably in Italy for some fashion event. Again.

“Actually, he is. He’s talking with the nurses right now. I also brought your phone. You must have forgotten it this morning.” She walked further into the room and handed me my phone as the words sank in. He was here? Maybe that shouldn’t surprise me so much. Father did like Marinette very much. Probably more than he likes me.

Father walked in and I couldn’t help but notice that his clothes matched the beige room. “Adrien,” he greeted, and I could hear the slight hesitation in his voice. And the slight worry. So he did care. 

His eyes glanced over to Marinette. “I’m... so sorry this had to happen.” He didn’t know what else to say. How could he?

“So am I.”

**MARINETTE’S POINT OF VIEW**

It was confusing having to watch all this before my eyes and not be able to do anything. I’m not sure at what exact point in time it happened, but it was almost as if I were a ghost. I was able to see and hear everything around me as though I were a different person. I could see my own body. 

It was exhausting. 

Adrien was holding my hand and singing. He knew I loved to hear his singing voice. He sang songs like “Little Kitty on a Roof”, “You Are My Sunshine”, “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, and many songs by Fleurie and Alec Benjamin.

It was both endearing and depressing.

I stirred when a doctor came to talk with my parents and Gabriel. Curious, I left Adrien and went to see what was going on. I almost wish I hadn’t.

This part of the hallway was empty, providing privacy for the adults. The doctor was holding a folder and had a tired expression plastered to her face.

“I’m going to be blunt with you. As you know, Marinette is in a coma.” She paused so she could gather her thoughts. “She was under the water without oxygen for at least four minutes. Her brain lost oxygen and... she went brain dead. She won’t be waking up. I’m really...”

But I didn’t hear the rest. My mind tried to wrap around what she was saying. Brain dead? Won’t wake up? How am I here? This doesn’t make sense! Why won’t I just wake up?!

I left behind the group of grieving adults and went back to my room. Adrien was still singing. 

_”I loved, and I loved and I lost you_   
_I loved, and I loved and I lost you_   
_I loved, and I loved and I lost you_

_And it hurts like hell_   
_Yeah, it hurts like hell”_

“No! NO! I’M HERE, ADRIEN! I’M RIGHT HERE! LOOK AT ME! I’M STILL HERE!” I screamed, but he didn’t hear me. No one heard me.

I sobbed and screamed until I eventually just sat on the floor numb and defeated. Death was preferable to this. Fleurie was one of my favourite singers, she was truly an artist. But I didn’t know if I could handle hearing his voice break as he sang some of her songs. My heart just couldn’t handle it.

_”Soldier keep on marchin' on_   
_Head down 'til the work is done_   
_Waiting on that morning sun_   
_Soldier keep on marchin' on”_

“No! Stop! Please!” I sobbed. I shut my eyes and covered my ears in an attempt to block out the noise. No such attempts succeeded.

He sang “Must Have Been The Wind” by Alec Benjamin next. Then it was “Water Fountain”, also by Alec Benjamin. He, too, was a favourite of ours. 

_”She couldn't be at home in the night time because_   
_It made her feel alone, but at that time she was too young_   
_I was too young_   
_I should've built a home with a fountain for us_   
_The moment that she told me that she was in love too young_   
_I was too young_

_Too young, too young_   
_Too young, young_

_And if she ever goes back to the water fountain_   
_The handle will be broken and the rust set in_   
_But my hand, it will be open and I'll try to fix it_   
_My heart, it will be open and I'll try to give it...”_

His voice trailed off as silent tears were flooding down his face. I was a sobbing mess.

“Please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, mon chaton.”

But he couldn’t hear me. I cradled him in my arms but was unable to move anything. His soft hair stayed in place as did the rest of him.

My attention was diverted when I heard Gabriel, Mom, and Dad a few metres outside the door, whispering. They told Nathalie what was going on.

“Then... we must tell him,” Nathalie suggested. “He has the right to know.”

“No. Not yet. I don’t want to destroy his hopes just yet,” Gabriel said. I felt that was a little cruel. Nathalie’s eyebrows seemed to agree with me, but she said nothing.

Mom looked to Dad before turning to Gabriel. “I know it’s not my place to say anything, but I agree with Nathalie. It would be harsh of us to keep him in this uncertain state of mind.”

Gabriel looked taken aback but Dad decided to interject. “Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to keep him in the waiting for just a while longer. It’ll give him time to be with her before...”

Before they pull the plug.

Mom sighed and shook her head. Nathalie frowned. 

“Then it is decided. We will wait until the morning to tell him,” Gabriel stated, taking a look at his watch, showing it was six in the evening.

“No!” I shouted. But no one reacted. They just kept their heads down. “No! Don’t do that to him! That’s cruel and harmful! Please. Please... don’t do it. Someone please tell him the truth.”

But they didn’t hear a thing.

I remember his screams. How he wailed. How his sleep deprived eyes poured me an ocean. How he held me tight. How his shoulders shook. 

I remember how something in him died along with me.

The funeral was beautiful. I could hear sirens singing. Or were they angels? My body was burned and the ashes were put in the ground so they could nurture a tree. I’d always said how when I die, I wanted to come back as a tree. I guess they remembered those words. 

Adrien’s speech was beautiful. He said lovely things that broke my heart and completed my heart. Mom and Dad cried and Nathalie and Gabriel stood there looking numb.

“Out in the darkness I saw an angel  
Held back the flood until the sky fell  
I see the future covered in roses  
Waves of gold as the door closes

I can hear hear the sirens

After the fire drove out the sparrows  
All of the clouds hang like gallows  
Hey are you listening, I cannot reach you  
I'm on the other side, trying to break through

I can hear the sirens  
I can hear the sirens.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know what you’re thinking: why had the adults taken the news of Marinette’s brain death so casually? Well, I was trying to go for the feeling that the information hadn’t quite sunk in yet, but I don’t think I did a good job of expressing that...
> 
> I’m a HUGE fan of Fleurie and Alec Benjamin, in case you haven’t figured out by now. So of course I just had to add their songs into my writing. Seriously, give a listen to them! I can’t choose a favourite song because they’re ALL my favourite. Some of the songs featured in this work (in order of appearance) are:
> 
> (1) Hurts Like Hell by Fleurie
> 
> (2) Soldier by Fleurie
> 
> (3) Must Have Been The Wind by Alec Benjamin (mentioned)
> 
> (4) Water Fountain by Alec Benjamin
> 
> (5) Sirens by Fleurie (part of Adrien’s speech at the end, but parts were taken out to accommodate the mood)
> 
> I really enjoyed this! I don’t think I’ve written a chapter so long before. Thanks for reading, it means a lot.
> 
> You can stop by on tumblr and say hi if you want. Or not. My tumblr is @legend-of-the-fandoms
> 
> As for all those who have read my miraculous hogwarts au, I’m so sorry for not updating that! I will at some point, though. The draft was a very rough one, so please feel free to come to me with suggestions. I am currently in the process of moving, so please don’t expect regular updates. I know what you’re thinking: “why are you working on this and not the hp au?” Sometimes you just gotta write your troubles away, and I’d rather not taint the au with heavy doses of angst.
> 
> Here’s a good question to consider that will make you question yourself: were the sirens ambulance sirens or the mythological creature?
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!


End file.
